Lee Irons was a veteran of the patrol team—a man hardened by countless battles—and yet, even he had fallen helplessly before the giant horned earthworms.

  Could Ryan Carter possibly fare any better?

  At this moment, Ryan had no time for doubts. Survival instinct took complete control. His mind focused sharply; every ounce of strength, spirit, and desperation poured into the blade in his grip—Tiger's Roar.

  As the massive horn shot upward—two feet of deadly, spear-like bone set to impale him—Ryan unleashed a single powerful slash: Tiger's Roar!

  This strike carried every bit of Ryan's newfound strength!

  In the settlement's teachings, they had explicitly warned against attacking a horned earthworm's body directly. Its thick skin was not only nearly indestructible but also secreted a slippery fluid, causing weapons to glance harmlessly away.

  But Ryan had no choice.

  It was too late to aim for the horn itself. His only chance was striking directly at its thick, barrel-sized neck, hoping desperately to sever its head.

  Tiger's Roar flashed brightly, a streak of gleaming metal. Ryan felt resistance at first—but then the blade surged through, slicing cleanly across. The massive head fell heavily to the ground, stopping mere inches from his body.

  In that instant, Ryan felt utterly drained, every muscle trembling from the exertion. But before he could regain balance, a brutal force slammed into his back, sending him flying through the air.

  It felt like getting smashed by a steel pillar. Ryan's abdomen churned violently, blood surging into his throat, nearly spilling out. Gritting his teeth, he forced the hot, metallic taste down, refusing to succumb.

  He knew immediately what had struck him—the second earthworm's massive tail. Only his fifth-level Iron Body Technique, providing skin like hardened armor and bones as strong as steel, had allowed him to survive such a blow unscathed.

  But now, the same enormous tail whipped toward him again. Worse, the headless worm wasn't yet dead. Its body convulsed and thrashed wildly, attacking everything around it—including its own companion.

  Facing both colossal creatures simultaneously was impossible. Ryan desperately dodged again and again, using the Mountain Leap from his Five Tigers Blade Technique to evade their increasingly frantic attacks.

  Once, twice, three times... Ryan quickly lost count. Each dodge brought him perilously close to death. He searched frantically for an opening to counterattack, but the relentless assault left no room for retaliation. The headless worm became even more berserk, its blind rage causing it to strike wildly, often hitting its fellow worm.

  Just as Ryan felt he couldn't last another second, Captain Harris appeared out of nowhere.

  Ryan didn't even see how Harris arrived. In a single fluid motion, Harris drew his blade, unleashing a fiery red blade aura over a foot long, slicing cleanly through both earthworms' massive tails.

  The headless worm collapsed, twitching weakly, while the second, now severely wounded, tried desperately to burrow underground.

  "Die!" Harris roared, slamming his glowing blade deep into the earth, drawing out a gush of dark green blood.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  After pulling back his blade, Harris's face was pale, his breathing heavy from the massive exertion. As the worms finally lay still, he turned toward Ryan, astonishment clear on his face. "Did you awaken your bloodline?"

  Awaken a bloodline? Ryan knew for certain he hadn't. But he also knew his performance just now far exceeded expectations.

  Feigning uncertainty, Ryan answered carefully, "I...I don't know. I was just trying desperately to survive."

  Harris nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "People often awaken their bloodlines during life-or-death moments. Ryan, perhaps you're one of those fortunate few."

  He glanced around. "Where's Lee Irons? Did he run?"

  Ryan pointed grimly toward the half-buried corpse of the worm. "Lee Irons was swallowed by that worm."

  Harris's eyes filled with quiet sorrow; his voice was heavy with regret. "Lee Irons survived longer than almost anyone else without awakening a bloodline. I never expected he'd fall here."

  He quickly pulled the half-submerged corpse out of the soil, carefully slicing open its stomach. Lee's body, covered in blue gastric juices, emerged intact—death had come swiftly, leaving little time for digestion. Yet the man who had spoken to Ryan moments ago was now utterly lifeless.

  "Giant horned earthworms might be low-level beasts, but they still produce beast crystals," Harris explained grimly. "Remember, most beasts have crystals in their heads."

  Harris sliced open one of the worm's heads, extracting a sandy-brown crystal. "The other crystal's yours," he told Ryan. "But the worm's horn and hide belong to the settlement. You'll get contribution points for those."

  Ryan nodded, accepting the arrangement. Following Harris's example, he spent the next ten minutes extracting the second earthworm's beast crystal, noting it was slightly inferior to the one Tiger Girl had given him.

  After collecting materials from both worms, Harris stood. "Lee's dead, so I'll accompany you for the rest of today's patrol. We'll carry Lee's body back to the settlement afterward. Leave him here, and he'll become food for beasts."

  Ryan felt a wave of relief. Patrolling alongside Harris offered a comforting sense of security.

  Harris was silent for the rest of their patrol, his expression grim. At sunset, Ryan and Harris returned to the settlement entrance, Lee's body carried between them.

  At the entry tunnel, a group waited—around a dozen patrol team members prepping for night shifts. Among them stood a young man in a black combat suit. He appeared in his early twenties, but his cold, sharp aura made everyone keep a respectful distance.

  Spotting Lee's corpse, the young man's gaze snapped sharply to Ryan. "Lee Irons is dead? Then how are you still alive?"

  The abrupt question was aggressive, accusatory.

  Ryan searched the original Ryan's memories but found no mention of this young man. He understood clearly: showing weakness here meant disaster.

  So he straightened, stared the man directly in the eyes, and answered firmly, "Because I'm lucky."

  The young man's face darkened, but Harris interjected calmly. "Ryan probably awakened a bloodline during the fight."

  Instantly, the gathered patrol members murmured excitedly. "Really?" someone whispered in disbelief.

  The cold young man scrutinized Ryan intensely, clearly trying to detect any signs of awakening. "What kind of bloodline?" he demanded sharply.

  "Unclear," Harris replied curtly. "It's still early, but let's hope it's something strong. Our settlement needs powerful bloodline warriors."

  As they spoke, more patrol teams returned, all exhausted, including Dylan Ross. Most showed little reaction to Lee's death, merely nodding grimly. "At least Lee's finally free," someone muttered gently.

  "Night shift's yours now," Harris told the cold young man, who nodded silently. Harris led Ryan and about twenty others toward the tunnel entrance.

  Muscular warriors rolled aside the massive boulder sealing the entrance, and the patrol team crawled down into the dim tunnels toward home.

  Though the tunnels were cramped and uncomfortable compared to the open sky above, Ryan noticed a visible relaxation among the veterans, relieved to be safely underground again.

  Dylan Ross crawled quietly beside Ryan, whispering, "Did you really fight those giant worms head-on?"

  Ryan shrugged modestly, "I just survived long enough; Captain Harris did most of the fighting."

  Dylan's eyes widened. "Captain Harris says you probably awakened a bloodline. Wow, Ryan—maybe you'll become a bloodline warrior someday! Don't forget your buddy when you're famous."

  Ryan smiled faintly, amused at Dylan's sudden enthusiasm.

  Soon, they reached the settlement's external chambers. Waiting there anxiously were family members—mostly women and children—searching desperately for loved ones.

  Among them towered a familiar, imposing figure—Tiger Girl.

  She had actually come for him!